Projectile Fuze Timer Counter Pyrotechnic Arming Delay
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing projectile fuzes have a short safe separation distance due to their design, which limits the effectiveness of their electrical and mechanical overflight safety mechanisms, making them vulnerable to interference and jamming attempts, especially over longer trajectories.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a pyrotechnic force element that mechanically blocks the safety and arming unit until the programmed time of flight minus a defined time value is reached, at which point the firing circuit is charged, and the safety and arming unit is unlocked, ensuring a longer safe separation distance and enhanced resistance to interference.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the safety and arming unit is designed to remove mechanical interruption quickly after firing, then the fuze is ready to fire faster, but the safe separation distance becomes too short, reducing overflight safety
Solution Approach 1:
The pyrotechnic force element is pre-positioned and pre-charged within the safety and arming unit before firing. When activated, it immediately generates mechanical force to block the safety and arming unit, creating a time delay without requiring complex additional mechanisms. This preliminary preparation allows the system to achieve both fast firing readiness and extended safe separation distance.
Solution Approach 2:
The pyrotechnic force element acts as an intermediary mechanism between the electrical firing circuit and the mechanical safety and arming unit. It converts electrical energy to mechanical force, which then physically blocks the safety and arming unit for the required time period. This intermediary allows decoupling of the electrical charging speed from the mechanical blocking duration, resolving the contradiction between fast readiness and long safe separation.
2Reliability
If a mechanical blocking mechanism is added to extend safe separation distance, then overflight safety is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The pyrotechnic force element is integrated into the existing safety and arming unit structure, combining the blocking function with the existing mechanical components. Rather than adding a separate complex blocking mechanism, the invention merges the time-delay function into the arming unit itself, using the pyrotechnic element to actuate existing mechanical blocks. This merging approach extends safe separation distance while minimizing additional complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the temporal parameter of the safety and arming unit by introducing a pyrotechnic force element with controlled burn duration. By selecting pyrotechnic materials with specific burn rates, the system achieves the desired safe separation distance through material parameter selection rather than complex mechanical timing mechanisms. This parameter-based approach simplifies the overall device design.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution extends the safe separation distance and enhances the resistance to interference, ensuring the projectile fuze is ready to fire accurately at the intended target by maintaining the safety and arming unit in a secure position until the predetermined time is reached, thereby improving the overall safety and reliability of the projectile.
Implementation Method 1
a pyrotechnic force element (14), which is interconnected with the fuze electronics and mechanically blocks a safety and arming unit (16)
Data Source
AI summary
A projectile fuze (12) having fuze electronics in which the time of flight (T) can be programmed, having a timer/counter which counts up to the programmed time of flight (T)—minus a defined time value (Δt)—and then charges an electrical firing circuit, and having a mechanical safety and arming unit (16) which switches a firing chain to the armed position after a specific time interval. The firing chain has an electrical detonator (24), a fuze needle (20), a piercing detonator (22) and a booster charge (26). The projectile fuze (12) has a pyrotechnic force element (14), which is interconnected with the fuze electronics and mechanically blocks the safety and arming unit (16) until the time of flight (T) minus the predetermined time value (Δt) is reached, after which the electrical firing circuit is charged and the safety and arming unit (16) is unlocked to the armed position by initiation of the force element (14).